President of Cade proposes deadline for carrying out the operation between Maersk and MSC in the Tecon 10 auction

The president of Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense), Diogo Thomson de Andrade, proposed that the body's court re-analyze the previous operation involving Maersk and MSC and BTP (Brasil Terminal Portuário) in dispute for the auction of Tecon 10, in the Port of Santos. The deals were approved without restrictions by the council's technical area in August.

In an order published on Thursday night (3), the president says that the intention of the deal cannot have an "indefinite period" for completion, as the auction for the port terminal still has no deadline for when it can take place. Therefore, he suggests that advisors establish a deadline for the operation to be completed.

The operations foresee that Maersk would buy the 50% of BTP belonging to MSC if it is authorized to participate and wins the auction. The same goes for the other company: MSC would buy Maersk's stake if it is the winner. The deal was approved without restrictions by Cade's General Superintendence.

According to Thomson, the approval given by the technical area could remain valid even if the deal was only carried out years later, in a different competitive scenario. Furthermore, there is still no definitive notice for Tecon 10, nor have the schedule, participation rules and conditions of the future grant been defined.

The proposal provides that any approval of operations will have an effective period and that Maersk or MSC will be obliged to previously submit to Cade the obtaining of the right to explore Tecon 10, even if the operation does not meet the criteria that normally make notification to the body mandatory.

"An authorization for an indefinite period allows each group to maintain, for an indefinite period, the possibility of implementing divestment if the scenario that motivated it comes to fruition, without the need for a new assessment of the competitive conditions that then exist", wrote the president in his order.

Tecon 10 is a R$6.4 billion project that envisages the creation of a new container terminal in the Port of Santos, with the capacity to expand cargo movement in the country's main port complex.

The auction modeling was analyzed by the TCU (Federal Audit Court), which determined adjustments to the project and recommended measures to preserve competition, amid discussion about the participation of large shipowners and companies that already operate terminals in Santos. In December 2025, the court maintained the two-phase auction model adopted by Antaq (National Waterway Transport Agency) and recommended competition restrictions.

The Lula government, however, tends to go back and allow even companies that already operate in the port, such as MSC and Maersk, to participate in the event, as long as they make divestments. The companies believed that Cade's endorsement would serve as a type of proof that they are able to participate in the event, since the body responsible for competition would have already given approval for the divestment.

ICTSI (International Container Terminal Services Inc.), a Philippine group that presents itself as one of the largest independent port terminal operators in the world, is also interested in Tecon 10. The company does not have a shipping company in the same group, unlike Maersk and MSC, and sees the dispute as an opportunity to enter the Santos market.

In the Cade process, however, ICTSI challenged the reorganization between the two shipowners and asked to participate in the case as an interested third party. The company maintains that the operation would not produce an effective deconcentration, since, if one of the two wins the auction, the other will have full control of BTP.

The president's order also proposed that any victory by Maersk or MSC in the Tecon 10 auction be subject to prior analysis by the body, even if the operation does not meet the criteria that normally make notification mandatory.

"The prior submission obligation is intended exclusively to ensure that, if the currently hypothetical scenario comes to fruition, Cade can examine the competitive configuration that then existed before the effects of the operation were produced", explained the advisor.

WHAT IS TECON 10

The megaterminal will be installed in an area of ​​622 thousand square meters in the Saboó neighborhood, in Santos. The project is for it to be multipurpose, moving containers and loose cargo. The winner of the auction will be defined by the highest grant model: whoever offers the most money for the right to build and operate it wins.

There will be four berths, as the ship's docking areas for boarding and disembarking are called. The investment forecast over the 25 years of the concession could reach R$40 billion.